NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 24 number 2 - Winter 2004

By Terrell Crow, Scholarly Communication and External Relations

The NCSU Libraries' gala opening for the exhibition The Pulitzer Prize Photographs: Capture the Moment was held in the Reading Room of the D. H. Hill Library on October 8, 2003. It had originally been scheduled for the evening of September 19 but was postponed because of Hurricane Isabel.

More than 150 guests had the rare opportunity of meeting five Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers and the exhibition curator, Cyma Rubin. The photographers who attended the reception were Robert Jackson (1964 Pulitzer Prize for "Jack Ruby Shoots Lee Harvey Oswald," Dallas Time Herald), Slava Veder (1974 Pulitzer Prize for "Burst of Joy," Associated Press), Thomas J. Kelly III (1979 Pulitzer Prize for "Tragedy on Sanatoga Road," Mercury [Pottstown, Pennsylvania]), Martha Rial (1998 Pulitzer Prize for "Trek of Tears, An African Journey," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), and Steve Ludlum (2002 Pulitzer Prize for "World Trade Center Attack," New York Times).

Susan K. Nutter, vice provost and director of Libraries, greeted guests and introduced Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor James L. Oblinger, who extended a welcome from the university. Nutter then introduced Rubin, an alumna of NC State and the individual responsible for researching and organizing the exhibition and for writing the exhibition catalog. Rubin noted in her remarks that, "If it wasn't for Susan Nutter, who rediscovered me at an NCSU reunion in 1997, and who nurtured an interest in my work and friendship, this exhibition would not be here. She is the innovative leader of the pack, along with her incomparable staff, the Friends of the Library Board, Chancellor Fox, and all of you who made it possible to bring the Pulitzer exhibition to NCSU. For this, I am dearly grateful." Following the brief ceremony, guests toured the exhibition and had catalogs signed by the attending photographers and Rubin.

The exhibition opened officially on September 19, and its reception by faculty and students has been gratifying. Students have expressed thanks for the exhibition coming to the library, and many faculty have included the exhibit in course work. Students from UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro, and the community colleges have also toured the exhibition. Photographers Rial and Ludlum said at a press preview for the exhibition that a perfect photograph must provide two things-information about the story and the emotion behind the story. Responses from visitors clearly reflect the success of these photographers in telling their stories.